Monday, 29 July 2013

Sanctuary: Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse

Front Cover

Synopsis

The change strikes without warning. All across the world men, women, and children cry out in agony. There is no pattern, nothing to explain why some are afflicted and others spared, but in the end a quarter of the population falls. A mere seven minutes later the corpses rise and begin to attack the living. The speed in which it happens, coupled with the survivors’ disbelief and horror, is simply too great. Chaos takes hold. Civilization crumbles. Hidden away inside his home, Jacob Thornton prepares to flee. The streets belong to the shambling dead. Power vanishes. The airways are silent. To remain is to die. Sticking to back roads in an effort to pass unseen, he travels north. Others are encountered on the way, and together they gather supplies, seek a place of safety, and discover how to defend against the zombies, creatures which have begun to leave the population centers and spread across the land.

My Opinion

I love a good'ol' zombie book to tear into (no pun intended) and with one of my favourite TV shows ‘The walking dead’ on its hiatus, I needed something to fix my zombie cravings.

I’ve always found zombie/post apocalyptic books fascinating and exciting to read, if done well that is. I guess one of the main reasons why I read these type of books is that without fail, they always leave me asking that single primary question that I'm sure other readers pose to themselves when reading such books -

What would I do if that was me?

I’d like to think, that if zombies should ever walk the earth, that I’d have some semblance of what to do.

Ok, moving onto the book. The story follows Jacob, who one day finds himself as one of the the few living survivors of a zombie apocalypse. It then follows his journey as he tries to find sanctuary. Along the way he meets other survivors, some good, some bad. The book is written as a journal in which Jacob is recounting his story, and so it’s told through his voice. It’s done well, and the author was clever in the way he dropped hints at will happen in the future.

I really liked Jacob as a character. He was thoughtful, smart and logical - all the attributes you need to survive an apocalypse. The other characters were all done well and each had their own distinct personality.

I finished the book (400 odd pages) in a day which gives you an indication at how enjoyable I found the book.

Some other thoughts on the book:

* The book devotes chapters or interludes, as the author likes to call it, to individual characters, explaining how they got to that point in time. Personally I wasn't that much interested in those chapters/interludes and after the first few I kind of started to speed through them.

* I thought the ending was superb, and I was flying through the pages gripped by the action.

Conclusion

A fantastic book, that is easily one of my favourite books so far this year. As soon as I finished the book I desperately hoped that there was a sequel, but to my immense disappointment there wasn’t. I’ll certainly be checking in the future for any further books published by the author.

Lastly, if you’re a fan of zombies then this book is a definite read. And even if you aren’t, then still check it as it might surprise. In a good way.